The Unheeded Warnings of 9/11

Published: February 11, 2005

As a criminal investigator and a security professional, I am appalled by the most recent revelations from the 9/11 commission. It is now abundantly clear that 9/11 could have and should have been prevented.

This was not a failure of intelligence or a failure to communicate. It was a failure to act. And the responsibility for this inaction rests squarely on the shoulders of George W. Bush and his administration.

Furthermore, as a citizen, I am outraged by the Bush administration's blatant abuse of power in classifying this information before the election. Withholding the 9/11 commission's complete report has in itself risked national security, while the only thing at risk from the full release of the information was President Bush's re-election.

Perhaps as Americans celebrate the potential birth of democracy in Iraq, we should pause to mourn the loss of our own.